New here - thanks in advance for any & all help!
I'm in the planning stages of an off-grid system for a 'skoolie'. The need is essentially a home on wheels, capable of operating remote, complete with two full-time 'office spaces', so our power needs exceed what might be considered recreational.
Until reading the 12V sticky, I had planned on:
1) 6 x 1200Ah 2-volt batteries wired in series (4/0 cable)
2) A 4' run of 4/0 cables from the battery bank to a 2000-W inverter/charger (across a 250A breaker)
3) 4 x 300W, 36V panels, Each pair on a separate 50A MPPT controller.
4) The required hardware (not yet researched) required to charge off the alternator as well (for a total of 3 potential charge sources... alternator, solar, and shore/genny)
I understand the advantages of a 24-v system, but with all the 12V loads we'll have (I'd like to keep as many 12V items 12Vs, as they're easier to source if nothing else), it seems problematic to add in the 24/12 conversion inefficiency on top of the inverter loss, plus I'd really like to charge via alternator & don't know how I'd do that otherwise (have looked for dual-alternator kits, but can't find any, and don't wish to add in proprietary/one-off/homebrew parts that could fail 'in the field' leaving us high & dry).
I've cut as many corners on power use as I can... we need those Amp Hours. So if you were me, what would you do? Everything I've planned seems to contradict the advice I've read, which I'm sure is there for a good reason. But I don't know the best way to implement the necessary change.
I'm in the planning stages of an off-grid system for a 'skoolie'. The need is essentially a home on wheels, capable of operating remote, complete with two full-time 'office spaces', so our power needs exceed what might be considered recreational.
Until reading the 12V sticky, I had planned on:
1) 6 x 1200Ah 2-volt batteries wired in series (4/0 cable)
2) A 4' run of 4/0 cables from the battery bank to a 2000-W inverter/charger (across a 250A breaker)
3) 4 x 300W, 36V panels, Each pair on a separate 50A MPPT controller.
4) The required hardware (not yet researched) required to charge off the alternator as well (for a total of 3 potential charge sources... alternator, solar, and shore/genny)
I understand the advantages of a 24-v system, but with all the 12V loads we'll have (I'd like to keep as many 12V items 12Vs, as they're easier to source if nothing else), it seems problematic to add in the 24/12 conversion inefficiency on top of the inverter loss, plus I'd really like to charge via alternator & don't know how I'd do that otherwise (have looked for dual-alternator kits, but can't find any, and don't wish to add in proprietary/one-off/homebrew parts that could fail 'in the field' leaving us high & dry).
I've cut as many corners on power use as I can... we need those Amp Hours. So if you were me, what would you do? Everything I've planned seems to contradict the advice I've read, which I'm sure is there for a good reason. But I don't know the best way to implement the necessary change.
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